


Turing's Army

by severalkittens



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Muggle-born Culture, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-08-19 15:29:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8214253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/severalkittens/pseuds/severalkittens
Summary: After Voldemort's return, a group of Ravenclaw muggle-borns form their own subversive group to combat rising blood prejudice.





	1. The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Students deal with the anti-Muggle born sentiment that has emerged out of the confusion left behind the summer after Cedric Diggory's death.

Ellie had enjoyed a long and relaxing summer. She always liked to completely re-immerse herself in the Muggle world as soon as Hogwarts got out for holidays. With the death of Cedric Diggory fresh in her mind, she had never been more hellbent on doing so. She’d taken the train straight from Hogsmeade to her parents’ country house and there she had stayed. She spent two glorious months with her Muggle friends skinny dipping in the lake, biking through open fields, and giggling over stolen Muggle beer late at night. She didn’t even complain when her parents loaded her up with Muggle books-- a weak attempt to catch her up on Muggle school. She didn't mind. Anything to avoid having to relive the end of spring term.

Until the last several weeks of the summer, she’d been completely and blissfully out of touch with the Wizarding World. _This was a huge mistake_ , Ellie mused, sitting on the Hogwarts express, wand tucked behind her ear, chewing on a lock of hair, lap filled with Daily Prophets, listening to snippets of her friends’ conversations. She’d missed a lot. It wasn’t exactly obvious, but by the fourth or fifth paper she was picking up on a certain set of words the Prophet seemed to be using in conjunction with blood purity. In a world where she already felt like a visitor, talk of “lazy upstarts” and the threat they pose to "honest, old-stock wizards" made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. _There was a word for this_ , she thought. _If I hadn’t spent so much time in the sun maybe-_

“Dog-whistle politics,” said her friend Diana, fortuitously. “Loads of it. And these subtle character attacks on Harry Potter. I might believe it too, if we didn't know the truth.” A murmur of assent rippled through the car. _The truth._ The news that had cracked Ellie's willful ignorance two weeks previously. She'd woken in the middle of the night to fourteen missed calls from Diana, who was spending the holiday in New York with her family. When she called back, she could hear Diana weeping on the other end of the line. _"Thank god you're ok,"_ she had gasped. _"I heard- I heard there were attacks. The Raos and the Weasleys confirmed."_ Diana had broken off crying at this point. Ellie's heart was in her throat. _"He's back,"_ she had whispered, and Ellie could feel her fear 6000 miles away. _"You know who. They say he killed Cedric. That Harry was telling the truth."_

Her care-free attitude had vanished on the spot. She'd planned to fly solo to Diagon Alley the next day to purchase school supplies and spend a night on the town, but she and Diana deemed it too dangerous. She'd wanted was to send her cat away with letters to all her wizard friends, hold their responses in her hands and know they were safe, but she couldn't risk anyone knowing where she was. For the same reason, she didn't even want to take a subscription to the Prophet. Previously she'd spent entire days asleep in the sun. After the news, she'd felt compelled to race back to her house every hour to check her phone for updates and look in on her family. But as they sat in that warm, sunny compartment on the Hogwarts express discussing ways in which their world might be about to change, all her worries seemed for naught; they were safe nonetheless.

Ellie had wanted to use the train ride to catch up on all sixty-eight issues of the Daily Prophet she’d missed. As it was, made it to number fifty-seven, and then fell asleep on Diana’s bony shoulder. She awoke in Hogsmeade to her classmate Anthony Goldstein dropping one of her bags on her feet. "Rise and shine, little one," he said, using the group's nickname for her. She only barely tolerated it. She wasn't even that short.

"-or should we say, quiet one?" chimed in Anthony's best friend, Alex Harrington. Like her, Alex was also Muggle born. After hearing the news of Voldemort's return from Diana, he'd been her very next call. Right now, she punched him in the arm.

"Shut up, Alex. You know I had a lot to catch up on. A lot to think about."

"I know, I know. Me too. Hey, it's good to see you safe, bud," he said, punched her back in the arm, picked up his bags, and turned to exit the compartment. She hoisted her bag too. Luckily, Alex had been traveling with their mutual friend Bo's family all summer. Bo's dad was a Muggle artist, but his mom did some kind of charms research under a Ministry contract, so they had all been safe. 

Ellie stayed quiet on the ride up to the castle, thinking about how lucky they had all been. Diana had informed her of six random attacks on Muggle borns, and one death. But she had stayed camouflaged, Diana had been in New York, and Alex and Bo had been traveling. Anthony's parents were wizards, and her friend Anjana's parents both worked for the Ministry of Magic. In fact, Anjana's parents, the Rao's, were in Dumbledore's elite crowd and had been the source of all their information all summer. Anjana passed information to Bo through wizard post. Bo and Alex, both active users of Muggle technology, were able to pass info to Diana and Ellie via text. The system worked, but she was looking forward to being closer to them, and closer to the action. This group of friends had faced, as well as caused, their fair share of problems in the past four years. Ellie wondered what new troubles they would face in the coming weeks, as they started their fifth year.


	2. Reminiscing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellie reminisces about her friendship with Cedric, and makes an offer to Harry.

Ellie stayed quiet on the way up to the castle. The last time she was here, Cedric had been alive. As they disembarked from the carriages, she kept expecting to hear him shout her name and give her a big hug, like he always did. She tried to remind herself that he wouldn’t be here even if he hadn’t died. When she didn’t think about it too hard, she could almost imagine the Cedric living in her heart was the real Cedric- that he had graduated and was off in London working for the Daily Prophet like he always dreamed. 

Cedric and Ellie had been close since her first year when he was her potions TA. She looked up to him, and he took a special shining to his bright, young student. It was never anything romantic. She just spent most of her four years trying to be like him. In his final days, she sat with him often. He let her help him prepare for the Triwizard tournament, doing research, practicing spells. She’d even been the one to decode the meaning of the egg’s riddle. 

She giggled to herself, remembering that particular night. 

_She’d been sitting on one of Cedric’s roommate’s beds, opening and closing the egg to annoy him. There were papers spread all over the room, each full of notes on the riddle. They’d already realized that the noise was mermaid song, and they were trying to figure out specifics. There was a knock on the door, and when it opened a red-faced Cho Chang peered through._

_"Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked, curtly. Cedric went out, leaving Ellie to her own thoughts. Ellie knew that he liked Cho a lot and that he felt bad he was spending so much time away from her. She suspected he couldn’t bring himself to show Cho his vulnerable, scared side. She privately thought they’d all be a lot happier if he would just let her in. Cho was the most important person in his life, after all. And he’d miss Cho a lot if she weren’t around. Ellie sat bolt upright. The riddle. "We’ve taken what you’ll sorely miss."_

_Cedric came back, looking a little dazed and confused._

_"What?" To Ellie’s surprise, Cedric burst out laughing._

_"She yelled at me. I really shouldn’t be laughing, it’s just-" he broke off laughing again. "She heard the egg screaming. She knew you were up here. She was upset because she thought we were having, you know-"_

_"What exactly did she think we were doing? Flogging each other?" They both burst out laughing. Cho and Ellie had previously gotten along alright, but ever since she’d started dating Cedric, she refused to believe there was nothing going on between Cedric and Ellie. Ellie’s face fell, remembering her realization._

_"But seriously, Cedric. I figured it out while you were gone. 'We've taken what you’ll sorely miss.' They’re going to take Cho." His face fell as well, and they sat there in grim silence for quite some time. When Ellie finally went back to the Ravenclaw common room, Cho had been sitting in an armchair, glaring at her. Ellie smiled weakly back and went up to bed._

-

At that moment, Ellie spotted Harry walking alone ahead of her. She guiltily thought about the suspicion that must have been peeking out from behind her eyes the last time she’d seen him. She jogged to catch up.

"Hey," Harry turned around. He looked scared. Ellie took a deep breath.

"I just want you to know. I’m on your side. I believe you. We all do. You know, the Ravenclaw crew."

Harry looked relieved, and a little uncertain. "Thanks Ellie, I can’t tell you how helpful that is. I was worried since, well, you know. You and Cedric were close and I-"

"It’s ok, I know. I thought you would be. So I just wanted you to know. If you ever need anything, we’re all behind you. We want to fight, too. Half of us are mudblood, we have to. All you have to do is reach out." She let out a breath. That had been a lot and she had said it very fast. She and Harry had always been amicable, but she was still nervous talking to him since he was so famous, and so sad.

"Thanks Ellie. And I’m sorry too. I’m sorry I couldn’t-" he broke off and removed his glasses. Crap- if he was crying, she wouldn’t be far behind. He regained his composure. "I’m sorry I couldn’t save him. I know you loved each other. As friends! Obviously. Everyone knew."

"Harry, I don’t blame you. You don’t have to- you can’t save everyone. You’re an inspiration to us all, and well," she was saying things she didn’t need to be saying now. "Well, we can talk about something else if you want."

"Sure," he smiled. "Great to have you on the team." He stretched out his hand and she shook it.

"Wait, Ellie, can I ask you something?" he said hesitantly.

"What is it?"

"The carriages, why do you think they’re horseless?" 

Ellie smiled sadly, "I don’t know, Harry. For show?" 

Ellie was a well-read girl and a very good friend of Luna Lovegood. Of course she knew that they were thestral-drawn. She didn’t want to have to be the one to explain it to him, or the one to add to his sadness. Her heart stuck in her throat when she realized it was probably Cedric that he’d seen die.

"I’d better go, Cho Chang will probably murder me if she sees me with you." She smiled impishly and scurried off, Harry sputtering behind her. She definitely should not have said that, but it was a heavy conversation and she needed some comic relief. Everyone knew how much Cho had hated Ellie at the end of last year. She hoped that the summer had changed things. This was not likely to be a time when they could afford to hate each other.


End file.
